I think you summed up a lot of things that people are feeling, but those feelings CAN change. Here's my biggest take: when you walk on campus the day before a football game, you don't get that electric vibe. Maybe it is because UCLA focuses so much on basketball. I don't know. But that is something I definitely notice.
Yes mora did that and I think he had a good turn out from students. I would like to think our new AD will bring that back, cause right now i expect lower attendance than even last year.
Yeah, the mausoleum is an option, but, to me, it's a terrible one.
SoFi is theoretically an option, but it doesn't offer any tangible benefits over the Rose Bowl - in that a fancy new stadium with all the luxury amenities isn't what is going to get Bruin fans into the seats.
If being that far off campus is such a major problem (which it is in my mind), then there's really only one solution...
I don’t think the Rose Bowl is detrimental to the program. I actually see it as a recruiting tool. When the Bruins have a competitive football program, the attendance is pretty good. As far as the drive , it being a hour away, only points to lazy fans. I live an hour from LSU & the majority of their fans drive that or further. They come from New Orleans, Lafayette, the Mississippi gulf coast , etc.. Winning cures all ills. Moving on campus where it’s difficult to park just to see a basketball games , will hurt recruiting to play in a mini stadium that seats 50k. You want to run with the big boys? Grow up ! The Rosebowl is still one of the greatest places to play in the country. That maybe the best recruiting tool we have.
I had Rose Bowl seats for 25 years. I’d have them still but I moved away. I loved it. Best venue I’ve been to. Granted I haven’t spent a lot of time east of the Mississippi, I plan a month long football road trip this November though. Gotta see The Big House as well as The Swamp! (I’m retired now!) Anyway you could wait 300 years for a stadium on campus. It simply ain’t happening ever.
has nothing to do with leadership. Has to do with money, space, and logistics. Just because someone mad a silly youtube video that technically shows space for a stadium does not mean there is actually space.
If the Rose Bowl is too far from campus -- if that is truly the reason -- there are other venues in LA that would not require hundreds of millions of dollars, getting very creative with limited real estate, and fighting the massive parking problem that would occur. What about SoFi? What about StubHub Center? What about buying Rancho and recreating the Rose Bowl tailgate experience? What about the Jackie Robinson Stadium site? There are probably other sites too. I don't see us ever moving from the Rose Bowl, but if it suddenly were not an option i'll bet we would hook on with Sofi pretty quickly and everyone would be happy.
Showing that there is space actually does, in fact, show there is space. Physics.
Your negative response is not shocking, but I'll try anyway.
This very serious video was made several years ago when there was a bigger voice advocating for UCLA Athletics (credit to TMB for being the remaining breath of that voice today). Alas, apathy continues to win the day, but that doesn't make good ideas go away.
The main argument against this idea, which literally would have happened in the 60's save for a close student vote that denied a necessary $1/student fee to support it - seriously, one dollar per student and this would have happened, has been that the administration doesn't have the interest in taking on the various naysayers, neighbors, and opponents to such a project. Your reply is an excellent example of that problem. UCLA Athletics and its administrative "support" have too frequently been willing to do the least work necessary (Pauley renovation, student seating at all venues, coaching searches, etc...) and not take on the hard tasks to accomplish great things. An on campus stadium would be a boon for a struggling Westwood. It would be great for students and school bonding and identity. A packed on campus stadium would drastically change the appearance and impression of UCLA Football. It would be a financial windfall with UCLA reaping the revenues from parking, vending, and ticketing, and save the ongoing costs of the Rose Bowl lease. Complaints about traffic and parking are irrelevant as it would be like any other academic school day, just for 6 or 7 Saturdays each fall. An aggressive and forward thinking administration would see the overwhelming benefits and work to make it happen, not cower and bemoan the difficulties of getting this done.
I would agree that building a stadium at the VA site adjacent to JRS would be a reasonable alternative, too, but I don't know how much of that land could be had, whatever the price, but it should be a consideration.
SoFi may be a palace, but neither it nor StubHub nor the Coliseum solve any of the problems that already exist because of the Rose Bowl's physical and psychological distance from school.
Hello, I have some insight on this issue. I am a Bruin alum but also member of the Bel Air Country Club which is adjacent to the UCLA campus. Several of our holes have beautiful views that go right over Drake. This issue comes up from time to time around the club and it would just not be acceptable to the membership as a football stadium would obviously have to go up. I know the residents in the area feel the same way.
The Rose Bowl may be a recruiting tool for us, but it's a detriment to home field advantage, it's an inspirational target for opponents, the distance from campus weakens the game day atmosphere, and if you don't put 70K plus in there there are so many empty seats that it's a bad look. Hey, I loved game day at the Rose Bowl but there are better options for improving the environment around U.C.L.A. football.
If we have a competitive program we will put 70K plus in the stands. Even more. I was at LSU games when they were losing & got free tickets and plenty of leg room. If you have the kind of program we had had lately, poor attendance is common. Building a 55K stadium to improve the program , is putting the cart before the horse. It’s a hassle getting to campus for a basketball game that seats 13k & we rarely sell out for that because of the inconvenience.
And I'd argue that 70K fans (oh, if only) in a 95K capacity stadium looks bad on TV and gives a bad impression of the program.
And getting to an on campus stadium wouldn't be any harder than getting to Pasadena on a Saturday in the fall. Traffic in Los Angeles will be an inconvenience anywhere - unless you are among the 20K students who live within a couple miles of campus. For them, it becomes incredibly convenient.
Where would an on campus stadium be built? There isn’t a square ft left not to mention parking ! Ain’t gonna happen. Playing in a new stadium never makes you a good football team. The Rose Bowl has never been an issue until the program became below average. If we win, The Rosebowl will be full again .
Geez, so many negative nancies here. Name some of your exaggerated "1000" factors and come up with solutions. You mentioned tailgating? Probably the least of the issues but...Scuplture garden. Royce Plaza. Wilson Plaza. Parking lots. Around Pauley. Anywhere on campus or around the periphery of the stadium (there would be room on the current IM field). Also, what percent of fans at the Rose Bowl tailgate? It isn't 100%, plus the students already rule The Hill and the apartments. There's way more than enough room for tailgating.
Electricity, IT, water, sewage...these are bigger issues, but all these things have solutions - as long as anyone wants to grow a pair big enough to take it on.
If UCLA can drop a state of the art hotel/conference center in the middle of campus, they can certainly build a football field with fancy bleachers.
It would fit in place of Drake. Need to dig down to protect some sightlines a bit but there is certainly room for it. I'd actually turn it 90 degrees and leave the east end relatively open to get the view toward Royce quad. And I just explained that parking exists - it just wouldn't be in a centralized area but there is sufficient parking on campus and at outer lots in Westwood already.
was Pauley a detriment to us during the Alford years when it was half full? No. it was half full BECAUSE we had bad teams. Rose Bowl is half empty because we suck. A really good year for UCLA football is by October we have an outside shot of winning the South if we beat USC.
Rose Bowl is great, but UCLA needs an on campus stadium. An hour on busses in traffic both ways is a tough selling point for tens of thousands of fickle students. And there needn't be additional parking for a stadium with the light rail line proposed through campus (from Sunset and Sepulveda Pass line to Wilshire Purple Line). Put parking structures farther away on light rail lines. Don't put any more parking on campus and take away Bel Aire NIMBYs main talking points. Big stadium entrance and one in Westwood (make business happy). Look at light rail in Seattle for inspiration. One line connects all stadiums, goes through downtown and to the airport. Game days (Mariners, Seahawks, Huskies) those light rail lines are packed.
As for coaches, seems Kelly's best days are behind him and college football has caught up with his innovations, but who knows. Mora left cupboard bare but Kelly stuck with Assinaro way too long. This season will tell. Regardless, once UCLA joins Big10, the Bruins will receive national exposure and getting better quality coaches should be easier. Wish they could poach Fickell from Cincy but maybe Cronin can work on that. Hopefully Jarmond, with his ties to OSU can change UCLA's football culture.
Kelly gotta go, but, there’s no clear vision about what comes next.
Chancellor needs to retire. He is not athletic friendly
He’s going on 20 years now right?
I think you summed up a lot of things that people are feeling, but those feelings CAN change. Here's my biggest take: when you walk on campus the day before a football game, you don't get that electric vibe. Maybe it is because UCLA focuses so much on basketball. I don't know. But that is something I definitely notice.
Yes that something that needs to change. Free buses to the games maybe would help.
Yes mora did that and I think he had a good turn out from students. I would like to think our new AD will bring that back, cause right now i expect lower attendance than even last year.
Also it does not help that our students are not even in class for the first 3 games every year.
but but UCLA is so big literally thousands of them live in LA. class or no class.
maybe winning would get kids to the games
Part of that is when you walk on campus, the football game is 30 miles and probably over an hour away.
Yeah…The only other option is the mausoleum though right?
Yeah, the mausoleum is an option, but, to me, it's a terrible one.
SoFi is theoretically an option, but it doesn't offer any tangible benefits over the Rose Bowl - in that a fancy new stadium with all the luxury amenities isn't what is going to get Bruin fans into the seats.
If being that far off campus is such a major problem (which it is in my mind), then there's really only one solution...
exactly
I don’t think the Rose Bowl is detrimental to the program. I actually see it as a recruiting tool. When the Bruins have a competitive football program, the attendance is pretty good. As far as the drive , it being a hour away, only points to lazy fans. I live an hour from LSU & the majority of their fans drive that or further. They come from New Orleans, Lafayette, the Mississippi gulf coast , etc.. Winning cures all ills. Moving on campus where it’s difficult to park just to see a basketball games , will hurt recruiting to play in a mini stadium that seats 50k. You want to run with the big boys? Grow up ! The Rosebowl is still one of the greatest places to play in the country. That maybe the best recruiting tool we have.
I had Rose Bowl seats for 25 years. I’d have them still but I moved away. I loved it. Best venue I’ve been to. Granted I haven’t spent a lot of time east of the Mississippi, I plan a month long football road trip this November though. Gotta see The Big House as well as The Swamp! (I’m retired now!) Anyway you could wait 300 years for a stadium on campus. It simply ain’t happening ever.
There is absolutely space for a 50-60K stadium, akin to what Oregon has on their campus. https://youtu.be/aw5qsbzaKjk
The problem is that there is no leadership on campus to make it happen.
60,000 people travel to campus every day of the academic year. This would be no different.
has nothing to do with leadership. Has to do with money, space, and logistics. Just because someone mad a silly youtube video that technically shows space for a stadium does not mean there is actually space.
If the Rose Bowl is too far from campus -- if that is truly the reason -- there are other venues in LA that would not require hundreds of millions of dollars, getting very creative with limited real estate, and fighting the massive parking problem that would occur. What about SoFi? What about StubHub Center? What about buying Rancho and recreating the Rose Bowl tailgate experience? What about the Jackie Robinson Stadium site? There are probably other sites too. I don't see us ever moving from the Rose Bowl, but if it suddenly were not an option i'll bet we would hook on with Sofi pretty quickly and everyone would be happy.
Showing that there is space actually does, in fact, show there is space. Physics.
Your negative response is not shocking, but I'll try anyway.
This very serious video was made several years ago when there was a bigger voice advocating for UCLA Athletics (credit to TMB for being the remaining breath of that voice today). Alas, apathy continues to win the day, but that doesn't make good ideas go away.
The main argument against this idea, which literally would have happened in the 60's save for a close student vote that denied a necessary $1/student fee to support it - seriously, one dollar per student and this would have happened, has been that the administration doesn't have the interest in taking on the various naysayers, neighbors, and opponents to such a project. Your reply is an excellent example of that problem. UCLA Athletics and its administrative "support" have too frequently been willing to do the least work necessary (Pauley renovation, student seating at all venues, coaching searches, etc...) and not take on the hard tasks to accomplish great things. An on campus stadium would be a boon for a struggling Westwood. It would be great for students and school bonding and identity. A packed on campus stadium would drastically change the appearance and impression of UCLA Football. It would be a financial windfall with UCLA reaping the revenues from parking, vending, and ticketing, and save the ongoing costs of the Rose Bowl lease. Complaints about traffic and parking are irrelevant as it would be like any other academic school day, just for 6 or 7 Saturdays each fall. An aggressive and forward thinking administration would see the overwhelming benefits and work to make it happen, not cower and bemoan the difficulties of getting this done.
I would agree that building a stadium at the VA site adjacent to JRS would be a reasonable alternative, too, but I don't know how much of that land could be had, whatever the price, but it should be a consideration.
SoFi may be a palace, but neither it nor StubHub nor the Coliseum solve any of the problems that already exist because of the Rose Bowl's physical and psychological distance from school.
Hello, I have some insight on this issue. I am a Bruin alum but also member of the Bel Air Country Club which is adjacent to the UCLA campus. Several of our holes have beautiful views that go right over Drake. This issue comes up from time to time around the club and it would just not be acceptable to the membership as a football stadium would obviously have to go up. I know the residents in the area feel the same way.
if you talk to a lot of recruits the Rose Bowl is definitely an asset
The Rose Bowl may be a recruiting tool for us, but it's a detriment to home field advantage, it's an inspirational target for opponents, the distance from campus weakens the game day atmosphere, and if you don't put 70K plus in there there are so many empty seats that it's a bad look. Hey, I loved game day at the Rose Bowl but there are better options for improving the environment around U.C.L.A. football.
If we have a competitive program we will put 70K plus in the stands. Even more. I was at LSU games when they were losing & got free tickets and plenty of leg room. If you have the kind of program we had had lately, poor attendance is common. Building a 55K stadium to improve the program , is putting the cart before the horse. It’s a hassle getting to campus for a basketball game that seats 13k & we rarely sell out for that because of the inconvenience.
very good point about basketball. bigger pain in the ass to get to Pauley in rush hour than dodger stadium
And I'd argue that 70K fans (oh, if only) in a 95K capacity stadium looks bad on TV and gives a bad impression of the program.
And getting to an on campus stadium wouldn't be any harder than getting to Pasadena on a Saturday in the fall. Traffic in Los Angeles will be an inconvenience anywhere - unless you are among the 20K students who live within a couple miles of campus. For them, it becomes incredibly convenient.
Where would an on campus stadium be built? There isn’t a square ft left not to mention parking ! Ain’t gonna happen. Playing in a new stadium never makes you a good football team. The Rose Bowl has never been an issue until the program became below average. If we win, The Rosebowl will be full again .
Geez, so many negative nancies here. Name some of your exaggerated "1000" factors and come up with solutions. You mentioned tailgating? Probably the least of the issues but...Scuplture garden. Royce Plaza. Wilson Plaza. Parking lots. Around Pauley. Anywhere on campus or around the periphery of the stadium (there would be room on the current IM field). Also, what percent of fans at the Rose Bowl tailgate? It isn't 100%, plus the students already rule The Hill and the apartments. There's way more than enough room for tailgating.
Electricity, IT, water, sewage...these are bigger issues, but all these things have solutions - as long as anyone wants to grow a pair big enough to take it on.
If UCLA can drop a state of the art hotel/conference center in the middle of campus, they can certainly build a football field with fancy bleachers.
It would fit in place of Drake. Need to dig down to protect some sightlines a bit but there is certainly room for it. I'd actually turn it 90 degrees and leave the east end relatively open to get the view toward Royce quad. And I just explained that parking exists - it just wouldn't be in a centralized area but there is sufficient parking on campus and at outer lots in Westwood already.
was Pauley a detriment to us during the Alford years when it was half full? No. it was half full BECAUSE we had bad teams. Rose Bowl is half empty because we suck. A really good year for UCLA football is by October we have an outside shot of winning the South if we beat USC.
Rose Bowl is great, but UCLA needs an on campus stadium. An hour on busses in traffic both ways is a tough selling point for tens of thousands of fickle students. And there needn't be additional parking for a stadium with the light rail line proposed through campus (from Sunset and Sepulveda Pass line to Wilshire Purple Line). Put parking structures farther away on light rail lines. Don't put any more parking on campus and take away Bel Aire NIMBYs main talking points. Big stadium entrance and one in Westwood (make business happy). Look at light rail in Seattle for inspiration. One line connects all stadiums, goes through downtown and to the airport. Game days (Mariners, Seahawks, Huskies) those light rail lines are packed.
As for coaches, seems Kelly's best days are behind him and college football has caught up with his innovations, but who knows. Mora left cupboard bare but Kelly stuck with Assinaro way too long. This season will tell. Regardless, once UCLA joins Big10, the Bruins will receive national exposure and getting better quality coaches should be easier. Wish they could poach Fickell from Cincy but maybe Cronin can work on that. Hopefully Jarmond, with his ties to OSU can change UCLA's football culture.